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Aretha
'Aretha'is a Vortixx engineer and arms dealer. Biography Native to the island of Xia, Aretha's natural ambition led to her climbing the ranks of her people's society even in the earliest days of the universe. Eventually she became a senior engineer, heading some of the most profitable and experimental projects in Vortixx society. When the Xevthian Empire began its conquests of the universe very early on in Matoran history, the Vortixx decided to earn the favor of the Empire's High-King, Alxor, by designing him a war machine completely free of charge. Though initially outraged by this idea, Aretha eventually came to accept the idea of not receiving payment when the possibility of an alliance with Alxor's regime sprung to mind. As a result, Aretha was placed in charge of a special engineering team assigned to create a war machine the High-King had previously had difficulty in creating; an advanced battlefield variation of the Airship. Two months after accepting the request to create the vessel, Aretha's team had almost finished their task right on schedule, though was shocked when an Onu-Matoran worker named Distrex announced that Alxor himself had come to inspect the Airship personally. Overwhelmed by the powerful aura of the Xevthian ruler, Aretha rambled on about the Airship's functions and capabilities before she was redirected to Alxor's personal general. Even after the Xevthian Empire's defeat by the Hand of Artakha, Aretha was able to maintain her status in Vortixx society. After Makuta Mutran left his pet rock on Xia, which would go on to grow into the Mountain, a rite of passage developed amongst the Vortixx. The challenge was that whoever could successfully climb the creature-eating mountain and survive would be granted better rights in their culture, with special privileges being entitled to those who left with a partner and returned alone. Aretha was amongst the first Vortixx who volunteered to go, and when she returned alone, her place within her people's society was uplifted. With her new status, Aretha became the head of a powerful weapons outfit, allowing her to compete with many of Xia's most powerful manufacturing firms. Now the head of five weapons factories, Aretha allowed her businesses to flourish by dealing with particularly aggressive and militaristic organizations. Agents of the Shadow Syndicate and the Dark Hunters were regular customers of hers, though her top buyers were servants of the Brotherhood of Makuta. She would also supply weaponry to the Zeverek bounty hunter Skorr, who she hired on at least one occasion to deal with string of hesitant customers who had fallen in debt. As a result of his grand success, Aretha granted him a discount on all her products. When Xia became the site of a battle between a Tahtorak and the Kanohi Dragon, Aretha was forced to evacuate into an underground bunker she had constructed beforehand. Not long after the two Rahi were defeated, Aretha's homeland was blockaded by the Shadowed One on the request of the Order of Mata Nui, Aretha found her factories occupied, resulting in her business temporarily shutting down. Though she attempted to dispute this with the Dark Hunters, she eventually conceded and gave up. During Makuta Teridax's reign over the Matoran Universe began, the Dark Hunters adopted Xia as their new headquarters after Odina was overrun. Because of this, Aretha was forced into becoming an arms dealer for the Dark Hunters, therefore shutting off her trade with the rest of the universe. When the Great Spirit Robot was crippled and heavily damaged following the Battle of Bara Magna, Aretha and the surviving denizens of the Matoran Universe migrated to Spherus Magna. Abilities and Traits As with all Vortixx, Aretha is naturally cunning and calculating, though is unable to keep her composure when in the company of particularly powerful individuals, such as Alxor. She is cunning and intelligent individual, and is very skilled at manipulating wary customers into buying under her terms. An opportunistic trader, Aretha jumps at any chance she can get to gain wealth. Whilst a talented trader, she is described as being much more cutthroat than others of her kind. She is devoted to her work, and will try her absolute best to ensure her products are top quality and constructed on schedule. Because of this, she has become a highly impatient sort, and does not tolerate delays on her developments. Tools Though she rarely finds herself drawn into battle, Aretha usually carries a finely crafted sword, which has the ability to disrupt an opponent's sense of balance. Thanks to schematics stolen from the Nynrah Ghosts, Aretha also carries a Midak Skyblaster as her secondary tool. Trivia *Aretha was originally created by exclusively for Evils Unbound as a minor, one-off character. However, co-author felt that he could exploit her for an unnamed Vortixx character that he planned to introduce into a storyline, and with Toa Hydros' permission, created her a MOC and incorporated her into his continuity. *This page is "shared" between users and , as this character appears in both members' respective story lines. Appearances *''Evils Unbound'' (First Appearance) *''Punishment'' (Mentioned Only) Category:Vortixx